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By the Numbers: Who Gets Counted in the 2020 Census?

Posted on January 22, 2020 by Ann Thúy Nguyễn

The experiences of Asian American & Pacific Islanders (AAPI) have been historically fraught with misrepresentation. Confined to the middle of a Black and White binary and stereotyped as a monolith, AAPI communities and the conversation around their nuanced realities have been muddled, hindering meaningful conversation and change. This series will work to unveil the authentic narratives, pay tribute to histories, and contribute to a growing body of discussion on the AAPI experience. With CSSP’s journey of becoming an anti-racist organization and its mission of striving for a just society in which all children and families thrive, we as part of the staff are committed to reframing narratives and learning from the evidence we encounter. We hope this series will move AAPI communities from the middle into the foreground of racial dialogue and their truths will claim stake within America’s political consciousness.

Every 10 years, the United States must take a count of all residents (regardless of citizenship status) within its boundaries, including the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). With the upcoming decennial census that began earlier this month, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islander groups (collectively referred to as AANHPI) are working hard to ensure that they won’t be excluded from the count. AANHPIs are among one of the “hard-to-count” demographics, which also includes other racial groups, young children ages 0-4, renter households, persons in low-income households, persons experiencing homelessness, and persons with mental or physical disabilities.

Because the census tells us a great deal about communities of color, inaccurate counts can be a profound equity issue. Ensuring fair data collection and reporting are critically important to:

(1) Allocate proper funding and electoral support.

Census data determines the allocation of $880 billion dollars and more than 300 federal funding programs (including Head Start, Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP) as well as redistricting within certain states. Inaccurate numbers can cause groups of people—particularly people of color and immigrants—to lose funding and support for their communities. For example, one-tenth of Asian American and one-third of Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander children and pregnant women relied on the Head Start and Early Head Start program, an $8.3 billion dollar program, in the 2015 – 2016 school year. Moreover, this unequal allocation of funding or electoral representation in communities already systematically disadvantaged reaffirms racism and classism.

Last year, advocacy groups and community members worked to successfully remove a proposed citizenship question on the 2020 census because of fears that it could deter Asian and Latino immigrants from participating. Many Asians fear their answers on the census could be used against them; they’re the most concerned racial group (41% of Asians are “extremely or very concerned” compared to 35% of Blacks and 32% of Hispanics). Other obstacles that specifically impact AANHPI response include low-income status, lack of familiarity with the census, and limited English proficiency. Asians also have the highest language barriers of any racial group (35% of Asians speak English “less than very well”, compared to 32% of Latinos and 14% of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders).

(3) Dispel monolithic mythologies of AANHPI communities.

The reliability of collecting accurate data from AANHPI populations is further complicated because reporting protocols combine all Asian ethnicities under a monolith that most typically reflects only East and South Asian experiences. Aggregating data in this way provides a limited picture of AANHPI experiences and perpetuates the racial mythology that all AANHPI groups are the same—successful and high-achieving. Known as the “model minority” myth, this disguises the unique challenges and realities of individual subpopulations and disproportionately misrepresents the needs of specific ethnicities in the AANHPI population. Asian American groups with less privilege can also become more invisible, leading policymakers to take less responsibility in addressing their needs.

Ultimately, AANHPI groups and advocates are raising concerns about an accurate 2020 Census because equity and data are deeply tied. Knowing that the census is largely responsible for appropriating federal resources to the local- and state-level, we must not overlook the knowledge and perspectives of AANHPI populations—and of groups most impacted by structural and systemic oppression like racism, anti-immigrant racism, and classism—whose experiences need to be heard. Racial groups and low-income groups are two of many communities that are often left behind in the data making of the U.S. Census, but their involvement is crucial to learn how to achieve more equitable outcomes for all. At CSSP, we place equity at the center of knowledge development, and we recognize that we must always turn our attention to ensuring those most affected by public systems have the opportunity to be part of the evidence.

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